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From what I hear, some parts of the world are starting to show signs of fall — autumnal leaves, crisp evenings, and don’t forget all the Christmas decorations in the stores (ugh!).

Here in the Deep South, Fall hasn’t even scheduled his airfare to our area. Highs are still in the 90s and humidity is always 100% (or close to it). We have rain showers most days.

Although I have not dusted off my boots or pulled out my sweaters, I would like to keep the spirit of the changing seasons and bring you an appropriately flavored cocktail that is still palatable and refreshing when your backyard is a sauna.

Enter La Recolte (The Harvest en anglais). This is a cocktail that evokes thoughts of golden leaves, holiday gatherings, and cuddling up by the fire. It is also a cocktail that isn’t too sweet or too tart and has a refreshing effervescence that you can enjoy after swimming in from the mailbox or melting while carrying in your groceries.

I love the styling of this bottle!

I found this recipe while searching for things to do with St. Germain liqueur — a French libation flavored from elderflowers. I had purchased a bottle for another recipe I will share with you later, but I like for things in my pantry to do double or triple duty if possible. Enter the Pear and St. Germain Martini.

This cocktail is a nice clear drink that is great made 1 or 2 at a time but would also work well mixed up as a punch for a cocktail party or bridal shower (consider adding a bottle of ginger ale to the mix to bring down the potency). The lemon juice and champagne help balance the sweetness of the St. Germain and pear vodka.

So if you find yourself with this random assortment of ingredients in your pantry, or if you just fancy a new, refreshing cocktail, give La Recolte a try and let me know what you think!

Howdy, friends! I hope this post finds you well and warm. It sure has been chilly here in South Alabama! That means we have been spending a lot of time indoors and I have been doing a lot of baking, cooking, knitting, and sewing. I promise I will show you more of the fruits of that labor, but first I think you need to quench your thirst with one of these tasty and in-season cocktails (and wouldn’t it be perfect for a Valentine’s dinner in?).

My husband and I recently returned from a much-needed week in the Caribbean and I have spent all week longing for that warmth and sunshine! Luckily, this drink helps to quench that desire just a little bit.

If you aren’t familiar with blood oranges, don’t feel bad. I didn’t know they existed until about 2 winters ago. They are similar to a regular orange in taste and outward appearance, but the fun part is that the flesh and juice varies from pink to red, hence the “blood” descriptor. Funny thought, in medicine we have a tendency to name things (even gross ones) after food. For example, a flat brown birthmark is called a cafe-au-lait spot. In the case of blood oranges, we have a food item named after a part of the body…

Well, we’ve all made it past hump day and we’re only one day away from the weekend. This cocktail is the perfect addition to your weekend, whatever your plans may be.

Mr. Homemaker and I were inspired by a recipe we saw in a recent issue of Garden and Gun magazine. They featured a re-engineered bourbon and coke, and while Mr. Homemaker loves bourbon, I just can’t stand the stuff. So after we made the recipe as written for him to try, we came up with the great idea of adapting the recipe to use rum, a more globally accepted beverage in our house.

So this “reinvented” recipe is a little different from the original rum and coke (obviously). Traditionally, the beverage is made by combining 1 part rum with 2 parts Coke. The version I am sharing today is the opposite — 3 parts rum to 1 part Coke, making it more suited to sipping like a martini than chugging like a soda.

Compared to the Garden and Gun recipe, we like the drink with a little less booze and a little more Coke syrup. We also swapped out the lemon twist for lime to keep up with the typical Cuba Libre gig. The orange-flavored bitters also add to the citrus-y appeal of the drink. We suggest using the best gold rum you can find as the flavor of the liquor is featured.

So while making a concentrated syrup from Coca-Cola may seem a little odd to you, go ahead and give it a try. I can assure you it will keep for at least a month in your fridge just in case you decide to use the whole can of Coke to make up a huge batch of Coke Simple Syrup.

Cuba Libre, Reinvented

Serves 2

For the Coke Simple Syrup:

1/4 cup Coke

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Heat in a small saucepan over low heat stirring occasionally until all the sugar has completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to use. One batch makes enough for about 6 cocktails.

For the drinks:

3 ounces good quality gold rum

1 ounce Coke Simple Syrup

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Squeeze of lime

Lime twists to garnish

Combine all ingredients except the garnish in a cocktail shaker full of ice. Shake vigorously then strain into two chilled martini glasses. Enjoy!

It's been a long week! You've worked hard! You deserve a Meyer Lemon Drop Martini!!

If you’ve never met a Meyer lemon before, let me introduce you. Meyer lemons are a cross between regular lemons and mandarin oranges that were imported from China in 1908. See Wiki for more info. Meyer lemons are shorter and rounder than grocery store lemons and have thinner and usually more golden skin and flesh. The best thing about them is their gentler bite. They are less acidic than regular lemons, making them perfect for desserts and cocktails. Some people will even eat them plain.

Looking a little ragged by the end.

This year I went crazy buying plants and trees for my garden but the combination of a hot, dry summer and a husband working lots of overtime meant that my abundance of plants didn’t get the TLC they deserved. Luckily my Meyer lemon tree had quite a few green lemons on it when I bought it so all I had to do was keep it watered to make sure I got to enjoy its fruits. And enjoy them I did. In 6 batches of martinis to be exact 🙂

When my friend Catherine and I were whipping up the last batch of cocktails from the Meyer Lemon Drop Martini Tree (as we have dubbed it), I decided I should snap a few photos and share this delicious recipes with y’all. If you can’t find Meyer lemons at your local grocery, don’t panic, you can still enjoy this recipe by substituting regular lemons without any other modifications. As an added bonus, this recipe utilizes the simple syrup recipe I posted earlier.

I hope you have a fun and relaxing weekend and enjoy a lemon drop for me while I am on call.

Meyer Lemon Drop Martini
Yield: 2 martinis, or 1 if you’ve had a bad day

In a small microwave safe container, heat simple syrup and zest in 20 second intervals until syrup is hot but not boiling. Cool completely, then chill. This process will help release the oil from the zest and give your simple syrup more citrusy flavor. (Alternately, if you are making a fresh batch of simple syrup, you could include the zest when combining the water and sugar before heating.) Make sure all ingredients and martini glasses are well-chilled before proceeding.